I’ve been thinking lately about discomfort, and I’ve been having conversations about it as well. I’ve noticed that when I am made uncomfortable by something, I take more notice of it and talk more with God about it. If a problem is far away or I can’t see or feel it, if it doesn’t touch or affect me, I tend to forget that it is a big deal. But when the problem comes to my neck of the woods, or to someone I know, or to me personally, I am more likely to realize just how significant the problem is. In some cases I realize that the problem causes more than discomfort, it causes suffering.
Because we humans tend to be like this, it is important that God allow us to suffer, particularly as Christians. If we don’t know or care about how someone feels or what they’re going through, we are less likely and less able to offer the help they need. When someone helps you, it means more if they know exactly what you’re going through. When someone helps you and they know what you’re going through, the help becomes more tailored and specific.
It’s not that you can’t care for and help people without going through the exact problem, it’s that in many cases knowing what the suffering feels like brings you an understanding you never would have had. When God makes you uncomfortable, be sure that He intends to bring from it a greater good. Just because something bad happens doesn’t mean that it will negatively affect everything. When you let God walk with and work with you in your suffering and discomfort, it will be used for goodness you’ve never imagined!
Related reading:
Not Exempt
A Bit on Suffering
Comfort in the Storm
Uncomfortable But Important